road construction

Stateside's conversation with Ken Sikkema, senior policy fellow with Public Sector Consultants and a former Republican legislative leader, and Vicki Barnett, a former mayor of Farmington Hills and a former Democratic legislator.

Gov. Rick Snyder signed a $1.2 billion road funding package in 2015 that called for increased vehicle registration fees and gas taxes, many of which went into effect this year.

In an interview with Stateside this week, Michigan Department of Transportation director Kirk Steudle said the state was “still trying to manage the deterioration,” but the overall quality of roads was yet to rise, despite the fresh tax revenue. But he noted the general fund component of the 2015 funding package has yet to kick in.

The Michigan Department of Transportation announced earlier this week that southbound I-75 in Detroit will be closed for construction starting tomorrow.

The highway will be closed for two years as improvements are made to the Rouge River bridge, as well as several smaller bridges and the implementation of intelligent transportation system (ITS) equipment.

Northbound I-75 will not be significantly affected, although a single lane will be closed at times.

This week, Michigan lawmakers are expected to continue discussing ways to spend more money to fix state roads. It’s estimated the state has to come up with at least $1.2 billion annually to repair Michigan’s aging and crumbling roads and bridges.

In May, voters rejected a proposal to increase fuel and sales tax rates to pay for fixing the roads.

Most of the proposals on the table now include tapping existing state revenues. The general fund is used to fund most state government programs.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - As Michigan readies for a vote on raising taxes to smooth a deteriorating network of roads, one reason is because it's contending with the reality that federal money for the projects is down.

About $1 billion from the Federal Highway Trust Fund was made available to Michigan in 2013. That's 8 percent less than five years earlier and 15 percent less when adjusted for inflation, according to figures compiled by the Associated Press.

Gov. Rick Snyder is expected to start signing bills Monday as part of a package to boost state road funding. The legislation is contingent on a May ballot question that would raise Michigan’s sales tax from six percent to seven percent.

If voters approve the plan, the new revenue is expected to raise more than $1 billion for roads and infrastructure, $300 million for schools, $130 million for mass transit, and almost $100 million for local governments every year.

I-96 will open tomorrow (Monday, September 22), more than two weeks ahead of schedule. The stretch was closed between Telegraph and Newburgh Roads in Livonia. The announcement was made today as Governor Rick Snyder and others gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and walk on the freeway. I-96 was closed in April to allow crews to reconstruct the 7-mile stretch. Crews rebuilt 56 miles of freeway, repaired 37 bridges, and reconstructed 26 ramps. The project area runs through Redford Township and Livonia.

Transportation officials in Michigan are hearing from their federal counterparts this week about a funding shortage that may affect next year’s orange barrel season.

The problem is fuel efficient cars, at least partially. More fuel efficient cars mean less gas revenue flowing into the Federal Highway Trust Fund. The federal gas tax rate has remained at the same level for two decades.